Analysis of Lupin's Character.

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 96979

Sorry for not responding in the other thread, but I think people are
looking much too close to the surface when trying to understand Lupin.

I believe Lupin's entire life, all his responses, and all his
interactions with people are driven by one deep seated very much
SUBconscious principle. That deep subconscious principle is...

"If you really knew me, you wouldn't love me."

I want to emphasize most emphatically that this is not driven by
conscious thought, this motivator occures at a deep subconscious level.

Lupin is a werewolf, hated and feared by most of wizard-kind. The few
friends and benevolent benefactors he has are treasures that are far
far too precious to risk for any reason. So, he hesitates, he's
undecided, he's insecure, and all these things color his actions.

Despite the fact that Lupin is a kind, gentle, sensitive, brave, and
loyal person, and a friend who wouldn't hesitate to die for his own
true friends, Lupin knows deep down inside that he has a very dark and
deadly side to himself. Given the undisputed existance of his dark and
deadly werewolf essense, the slightest mistake on his part, the
slightest miscalculation, the slightest harm caused by himself, COULD
be enough to drive his friends and benefactors away.

Because of his being a werewolf, I think he sees his associations with
everyone as being extremely fragile. Given that much of the wizard
world refuses to associate with him in any way, and that another
smaller faction would most likely kill him on sight if they knew what
he was, his insecurity is not justified.

Why didn't Lupin tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an animagus? Because
the lose of Dumbledore as his benefactor would have doomed Lupin to
total banishment from the wizard world. If Dumbledore withdrew his
support, it seems very likely that the entire wizard world would
follow his lead. So, SUBCONSCIOUSLY, Lupin must ask himself if that is
a risk worth taking. Is it worth destorying his own primary benefactor
and patron, just to convey some information that might not even be
relevant. I don't think so.

So, Lupin rationalizes to justify his fear. He thinks Sirius being an
animagus is unrelated to Sirius's ability to get into the castle more
that once. He needs that alternate explanation to be true, because if
it is not, then Lupin is doomed.

When Lupin transformed right on Hogwart's grounds, that was Lupin's
own worst fear come true. If he had injure any student, but more so,
if he has injured Harry, or turned Harry into a werewolf, first, not
only would Lupin never have been able to forgive himself, I don't
think he could have lived with the guilt. 

Further more, a mistake of that magnitude would have certainly driven
all his friends and his primary benefactor away from him, and the
small limited life he had built for himself would have been lost.

At least, in his insecure subconscious, that's how Lupin's mind is
analysing the situation.

Like many of us, deep down in his subconscious, Lupin fears not fear,
but loneliness. That is one fate he will do anything to avoid.

Because of his werewolfism, Lupin feels his friendships are very
fragile, and he will do anything short of betraying those friendships
to preserve them.

ESN!Lupin (Ever So Nice), ESG!Lupin (Ever So Good), EESI!Lupin (Ever
Ever So Insecure), but never ESE!Lupin (Ever So Evil).

Lupin is a good man, brave, loyal, couragious, a good and true friend,
and I think his insecurities are unwarranted. I think his true friends
do know him, and love him anyway. But that doesn't stop his
subconscious from believeing....

"If you really knew me, you wouldn't love me."

JKR essentially said that Lupin is flawed in the sense that he is
desparate for people to like him. 

So there you have it. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

bboy_mn